The First Avenger's Christmas
by pure-black-wings
Summary: Also called A Very Merry Avenger's Christmas. The Avengers celebrate their first Christmas together at Stark Tower! They only plan on celebrating Christmas day, but Tony has other plans, and end up doing the twelve days of Christmas as well. Pairings: Clint/Natasha, Pepper/Tony, Thor/Jane, Loki/Darcy, Bruce/Betty, and in later chapters, Steve/A suprise guest.
1. 1: Snowball Wars 2012

**Hey everyone! I am still writing all the other fanfictions I said I would, I just have to find time to type them all up. Anyway, I decided to make an Avengers Christmas fanfic. There will be twelve chapters, and I promise I'll finish the whoel thing within the month of December, and hopefully before Christmas. I plan to post the last chapter on Christmas day. Anyway, I hope you like it! Ok, so ther may be a little bit of OCness with the characters, it just depends on the way you look at it. Pairings: Clint x Natasha, Pepper x Tony, Loki x Darcy, Thor x Jane, and Bruce x Betty. Also, a surprise pairing with Steve in later chapters. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or the Avengers… If I did Black Widow and Hawkeye would have been together a long time ago.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Snowball Wars 2012

It was a beautiful December day in New York City. The sun was just rising, making the formerly dark blue sky light up with rays of orange and yellow. Fluffy white clouds floated around above, delivering something all children wanted during the Christmas season: snow. Unfortunately for the new residents of the Stark Tower, the children weren't the only ones excited about the snow.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" the voice of Tony Stark exclaimed as he ran down the hallway leading to the Avenger's rooms. Then he stopped, waiting for any sign that his teammates had gotten out of bed. The only thing that greeted him was silence.

"Cccooommmeee ooonnnn!" The billionaire whined, taking time to bang his fists on every single door in the hallway. All of a sudden, a chorus of groans rang out the tower, making a grin appear on the genius's face.

The first door to open was the one to his own room as Pepper stumbled out, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Tony it's four in the morning. I don't think the assassins staying in our tower would like you waking them up."

"Our tower?" Tony repeated, raising an eyebrow. "It's called 'Stark Tower'."

"What happened to Stark Tower was my baby?

"That contract has expired," he replied, getting a small peck of the lips from the strawberry blonde. "Fine, our tower."

Suddenly, a creak echoed throughout the hallway as another door swung open, revealing a not-so-tired Steve Rogers. "'Morning Stark, Pepper. What's wrong?"

Pepper and Steve both glanced over at Tony, curious to what he had to say. Tony only gave them a mischievous smile in return. "I want to talk to everyone! Capsicle, wake everyone up and meet me in the living room."

Suddenly, all the color drained from Steve's face and his eyes widened. All the Avengers knew that only Thor, Steve, and Tony were morning people. The others would kill anyone who entered their rooms. "I-i have to wake all of them?"

"Naw, don't worry. Pepper can wake up 'Tasha."

"What?" This time it was Pepper's turn to stare at her boyfriend in shock. Waking Natasha up was like asking for a bullet to the head.

"Hey, you're both women. She wouldn't hurt you as much as she would the rest of us," Tony replied with a small shrug.

"But… What if…" The CEO began, but she couldn't find words to finish her sentence. Either way, both Tony and Steve knew what she was about to say. Although she would rather die than admit it, Natasha rarely slept in her own room. Most of the time she slept with Clint, and she absolutely hated it when anyone disturbed them.

Tony sighed slightly before forcing a smile back onto his face. "Okay then, Steve, you wake them up too."

"No!"

"Why not? You're their leader! They hate my guts, they'd kill me!"

Steve glanced between Tony and Pepper before taking a deep breath. "Fine, I'll meet you in the living room with everyone in twenty minutes. If I don't make it in time, put on the suit."

* * *

"Got a queen of spades?"

"Nope, go fish."

"But, Pepper!"

"I can't change the fact that I don't have a freaking queen of spades!" Pepper Potts rolled her eyes at Tony as she fumbled with her cards. Tony gave her a puppy dog face, earning himself a glare. Mumbling in defeat, Tony drew another card from the deck on the table in the living room.

Pepper paused for a moment before blinking as if she had just realized something. "Hey, it's been about twenty minutes. You think Steve's alright?"

Just as Tony opened his mouth to reply, a loud crash echoed throughout the living room that was attached to the hallway. Pepper and Tony exchanged a half confused, half worried glance before they heard something that made them nearly jump up in fright.

"GOD DAMMIT STEVE, WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WAKE US UP AT FOUR FREAKING AM IN THE MORNING!"

The billionaire playboy and his assistant cringed at the sound of the furious redhead. Next thing they knew, Thor and Bruce came running into the living room. Bruce, who had dark circles under his eyes, didn't say a word; instead he just darted behind Pepper and Tony as if shielding himself. Thor was a different story.

"Lady Widow has been awakened! Run for your life, Midguardians!" the thunder god exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air as he raced towards the kitchen. Bruce whimpered behind Pepper and Tony as if he was trying his best not to hulk out.

Suddenly, Steve dragged himself into the room, his legs hanging limply behind him. "Help! Help! Please!"

"Sorry, cap, you're on your own!" Clint's voice replied as the archer darted out of the hallway, running to Bruce, Tony, and Pepper. Tony gave him a look that said, 'She's your girlfriend!'.

Clint glared at Tony for Natasha wasn't official his girlfriend, but before he could say anything Steve let out an agonizing scream as two hands grabbed his legs and pulled him back into the hallway.

"Uh oh."

* * *

"Okay… Now that that's cleared up, how about that meeting?" Tony suggested from where he sat on one of the couches, his arm wrapped around Pepper's shoulders.

Thor sat on the same couch as Tony and Pepper, but he sat uncomfortably on the far end with his hammer in hand. The blonde haired thunder god glanced over at them and hesitated before giving them a small nod.

Bruce and Steve sat on the couch to the right of the others, Bruce checking Steve's various wounds. Steve only glared at Tony, clearly blaming him for encounter with Natasha's anger. Bruce just shrugged before wrapping a bandage around the captain's left foot.

On the couch to Thor, Pepper, and Tony's left, and the final one in the room, sat Clint and Natasha. Natasha was hand cuffed to Clint and had her arms awkwardly folded over her chest, pouting. Clint looked as if he could bolt at any second as he held his wrist as he away from himself as he possibly could. Everyone swore they thought they heard Natasha mumbling, "Grow up you big baby."

"Well anyway…" Tony began once more. "I thought we could have a snowball fight in Central Park."

"WHAT?!" All the other Avengers, including Pepper, screamed. Tony blinked in confusion, not understanding why they were so angry.

"You had me wake up _her _because of a snowball fight!" Steve exclaimed, throwing his hand up in the air before wincing. Bruce scowled him before tending to the cut on his arm.

"You woke me up because of that!?" Natasha yelled, lunging forward at Tony. Clint yelped as he was nearly dragged off the couch. Then he grabbed his partner's arm, pulling her back to her seat.

"Nat, calm down," Clint said in the most soothing voice he could manage at the moment. Natasha paused, her balled fist relaxing slightly. Much to the archer's surprise, she slid back onto the couch, leaning into his chest. Tony raised an eyebrow at the two of them, earning himself two of their famous glares. Tony put his hands up in surrender before continuing.

"Yeah, a snowball fight. It's the first day it's snowed this year, and since Capsicle and Goldie Locks here probably haven't seen snow in a while, or forever, I thought that we could have one. How does that sound to you two?"

"It does sound fun Man of Iron," Thor replied with a small smile.

Steve hesitated before saying anything. "I haven't had a snowball fight since I lived in Brooklyn with Bucky… I guess it's a good idea."

Tony grinned before turning to the others. "And how 'bout old timers?"

"Why not?" Bruce said with a shrug, a smile grazing his lips.

Pepper laughed slightly. "The Avengers in a snowball fight? That's something I can't miss."

"I'm always up for some competition!" Clint replied with a mischievous grin.

Then all of the Avengers turned their gazes to Natasha, who shifted uncomfortably against Clint's chest. "I've never been in a snowball fight before," she whispered.

That made everyone's mouth drop. "You what?!"

"Wow, little red, you lived in Russia for most of your life and you've never actually had a snowball fight?" Tony asked, staring at her in disbelief.

Natasha shook her head. Clint stopped gaping long enough to mutter, "You're a disgrace to mankind, I swear." Natasha growled, punching her partner in the shoulder and getting a goofy grin in return.

"Then it's settled," Tony said happily. "Snowball fight in two hours."

* * *

"It's freezing!" Clint Barton whined as he stood in Central Park, his partner at his side. Natasha just rolled her eyes, mumbling, "No, it's not."

"You lived in Russia; you're use to the cold!"

"So? There's nothing I could do to make you warmer anyway, you already have a coat on. Stop complaining."

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do?" Clint replied, the sides of his mouth quirking up. Natasha gaped momentarily at his suggestion before putting on a stern face and punching him playfully.

"Ok everyone you have ten minutes to build a wall to hide behind." Tony yelled.

"Wait, how about we make this competitive? If you get hit by a snowball, you're out," Clint suggested.

A grin spread across the former CEO's face. "You're on, Barton."

"Ready, set, go!"

Snowballs went flying throughout the center of Central Park, making the civilians run out of the park in a mad dash. Pepper and Tony had become allies and were hiding behind the wall they built together while occasional throwing snowballs. Steve was throwing a snowball every chance he got, a joyful look on his face. It was obvious that whatever memories he had of playing in the snow as a child were good ones. Bruce was hiding behind his wall for the most part, trying not to get too into the game in fear that the Hulk might wish to join in as well. Thor was doing pretty well for his first snowball fight. He was throwing snowballs rapidly, screaming, "I shall beat you, Midguardians!" Clint and Natasha both had separate walls, and they both seemed to have strategies.

"Thor, please stop screaming!" Bruce almost begged the blonde Asguardian. Thor gave him a confused look before doing something that shocked them all. He decided to annoy Bruce even further.

"OH, I HAVE GOT A LOVELY BUNCH OF COCONUTS. THERE THEY ARE STANDING IN A ROW…"

A series of groans were let out as the snowball storm was stopped.

"Who would fucking teach him that song?!" Natasha growled.

Tony smiled sheepishly. "I may have shown him and the Star Spangled Man with a Plan the Lion King last week…"

"Seriously, Stark!"

Tony simply shrugged, making Natasha narrow her eyes. She was going to try and eliminate Tony from the game, until she noticed Thor hadn't ceased his singing yet. The thunder god was now standing up, singing intently, and obviously not planning on stopping anytime soon.

"Ready… Aim… Fire!" Natasha screeched. Suddenly, all the Avengers threw snowballs at him. Thor's eyes widened in shock as six snowballs hit him.

Thor turned to look at the Avengers and Pepper; his eyes were swimming in confusion. "Why did you do this, friends?"

"You were annoying the heck out of us," Clint shout in response, the others murmuring in agreement. Thor glanced at all of them before sighing. Then he walked over to a tree roughly fifty yards away, making sure to keep his distance from the on-going fight.

Immediately, the snowballs began to fly once more. Now the remaining six people were doing their best to throw snowballs and try to get someone out, with no success. No one seemed to even have a good opportunity to get anyone out. Well, except for Tony and Pepper that is. Since they both shared the same shelter, they could easily turn on each other, but they both decided they would team up.

"Ok, Pep, let's both try to get Rogers out, ok?" Tony whispered to Pepper, hoping no one else would hear. Pepper hesitated before nodding slowly.

Tony quickly stood up and threw a snowball over Steve's wall, which he dodged with ease. Then Pepper did the same, but she wasn't as swift as Tony had been. Before the strawberry blonde had a chance to chunk a snowball at the captain, he threw one that hit her stomach. Pepper blinked in surprise before whipping the snow off her thick coat with her hand. Then she gave Tony a small smile.

"Good luck, Tony," she said softly before beginning to walk towards Thor.

Tony gave Pepper a pitiful look before narrowing his eyes. "Dang it, Rogers!"

"What? I thought we were trying to win!" There was a pause before Steve added, "Sorry, Pepper!"

"Come on, Barton, Romanoff. Let's get Capsicle out!" Tony announced standing up and raising his right hand, which held a snowball. Before he knew it, four snowballs pelted him.

"I don't follow your orders, Stark!" Natasha snapped from behind her wall. Tony pouted as he turned to follow Pepper towards Thor.

People continued to throw snowballs, but for some reason they decided it was a good idea to aim them at poor Bruce. The scientist was huddled behind his wall that was slowly crumbling around him. Natasha, Clint, and Steve didn't exactly mean to throw all their snowballs at Bruce, that's just how it turned out. But they immediately regretted it when they heard an ear-splitting roar.

"HULK SMASH!"

There was a moment of silence before the assassins and super soldier yelped in unison, "Run!"

Steve, Clint, and Natasha seemed to completely forget about their protective walls made out of snow. All three of them jumped about and started to run away as first as they could, another roar echoing behind them.

"Guys, we need to get the Hulk out!" Steve shouted to his teammates as they ran.

"Good idea," Clint agreed, waiting for Natasha to say something. To his confusion, there was only silence. He glanced over at his partner, but she didn't return his look. She was trying to run as fast as she could, a look on her face that he hadn't seen there in a long time: fear.

"Nat?" The archer asked softly. The redhead snapped her head around to face him, terror swimming in her green eyes. "Hey, it's going to be alright, ok? It's just a game."

Natasha only shook her head violently. "It wasn't just a game last time."

That's when something clicked in Clint's head, the helicarrier. The Hulk had chased Natasha during Loki's attack on the helicarrier. He had almost forgotten that his partner had told him that. "It'll be alright, Nat. Just follow the plan."

Natasha nodded before both she and Clint glanced over at Steve. The captain nodded at them slightly. "Ok, good luck, team."

Suddenly, the three of them ran in three different directions. Much to Natasha's horror, the Hulk decided that she would be the one he would chase. The red head glanced around to see if the plan had worked to see the large green monster right on her heels. She yelped, turning back around and running even faster than before.

When Clint didn't hear the Hulk behind him, he stopped and turned around to see who had had decided to chase. When he saw that the Hulk was chasing the Black Widow. _Oh, god,_ he thought, blinking in disbelief. Then he looked around for Steve until he found the super soldier looking at him from about twenty yards away. They nodded at each other before bending down to build a snowball.

"HULK SMASH!" The words rung throughout Natasha's ears, making her cringe slightly. It was literally a nightmare coming true. She would rather be tortured then be chase by the Hulk a second time. Suddenly, the Hulk's hand came down on her back, sending her flying through the air. She landed with a loud thump on the ground, looking up at the Hulk who towered over her. The Black Widow closed her eyes, waiting to be crashed by the green rage monster.

But the pain never came. Natasha's eyes fluttered open to see Clint crouching over her.

"Hey, Tasha," the archer whispered, offering her his hand. The assassin shakily took it, pulling herself to her feet. She glanced around in alarm to see Steve throwing snowballs at the Hulk who was roaring in defeat. The large monster suddenly began to shrink until only Bruce stood in his place.

Bruce gave his teammates a sheepish look before starting towards Tony, Pepper, and Thor. "Sorry, Natasha."

Natasha didn't reply, she just slowly leaned back into Clint, breathing heavily.

"You, ok?" Clint asked quietly, getting a small nod from the redhead. He pulled her into a hug, which she uncharacteristically accepted. Steve watched, slightly confused. They were still having the snowball fight, right?

Next thing Clint knew, he was pinned to the ground by his partner. "Wait, what?"

"We're having a snowball fight, Barton. I'm not just going to give up," Natasha replied as she made a snowball. Then she turned back to her partner, who was trying to struggle against her hold. "К сожалению, моя хок." (I am sorry, my hawk)

Clint opened his mouth to protest, but before he could speak Natasha threw the snowball at his chest. Then the redhead unpinned Clint to the ground allowing him to get up and join the others who had been eliminated.

Natasha watched her partner leave before turning to Steve. "Nowhere for either of us to run now, huh?"

Steve nodded slightly. "I suppose so, Agent Romanoff."

"There's also no one to handcuff me to my partner for getting revenge on waking me up so early."

Steve froze, staring at Natasha with widened eyes. "It was Tony's idea! I really didn't want to- Ahhhhh!"

* * *

The Avengers all sat in the living room back in Stark Tower, just about in the same positions they were in before they left. The only thing that was different was the tv was on, and the first Indian Jones movies was playing. Tony seemed to think that Steve and Thor needed to see that movie.

Tony and Pepper were on the same couch, Pepper leaning back into Tony. Thor was intently watching the movie, repeating random lines, and occasionally going to the kitchen to obtain a box of poptarts. Steve had ice packs all over his arms and legs, but most of his countless wounds from being beaten by Natasha seemed to have healed almost completely. He was a super soldier after all. Bruce was sitting on the same couch as Steve, and he seemed to be trying his best to pay attention to the movie. Clint and Natasha were on the same couch they had been earlier that morning. Natasha wasn't handcuffed to Clint, even though all of the Avengers had wanted her to be. Somehow, she had managed to talk to Clint.

"I'm cold," Natasha complained to her partner in a whisper.

"Then go get a god damn blanket," Clint grumbled.

Natasha glanced at the archer curiously. "You're not still mad about me getting you out, are you?"

The only response she got was a grunt. Clint turned his attention back to the tv, trying to ignore her.

"Please, Clint?" The redhead whispered, sticking out her bottom lip. "I'm cold, моя хок."

Clint whirled his head around to face her when she spoke to him in Russian. They stared at each other for a few moments before Clint pulled her closer to him. Natasha laid her head on his chest; a satisfied smirk grazing her lips as they both turned their attention to the movie.

Suddenly, Tony asked, "So what are we going to do tomorrow?"

"Nothing, Stark," Steve mumbled a reply.

"Come on! It's not called the twelve days of Christmas for nothing!"

* * *

**So that's the end of Chapter 1! I hope you liked it, and please review, follow, and favorite! Comments and critique are gratefully accepted. I want to know what everyone thinks before I continue, but I am very excited about this fanfiction so I'm probably continue anyways. Thank you everyone!**

**pure-black-wings**


	2. 2: A Christmas Scavenger Hunt

**Ok, so this is chapter two. My sister and I came up with the idea, and we tried to make it as humorous as possible. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm running out of ideas already. :P Anyone, I plan to have this whole fanfiction done by at last the 27****th**** of December. I want to have the last chapter posted on Christmas day, but I'm not sure if too many people will be on to read it.**

* * *

Chapter 2: A Christmas Scavenger Hunt

It was 8:30 am in New York City, and, much to the Avenger's surprise, Tony hadn't woken them up. The sun was already up and shining in the ocean blue sky and the light snowfall was a beautiful sight.

When Steve opened his light blue eyes, he rolled over onto his back. His wounds from the day before had healed well, and they were now only a dull ache. The blonde super soldier slowly heaved himself out of bed, glancing around his room in Stark Tower. He spotted a gray t-shirt at the foot of the bed, and he quickly slipped it on before stumbling towards the door.

The captain swung his bedroom door open, and an amazing scent reached his nose. Steve blinked in confusion. Was that the smell of breakfast? No, it couldn't be. Pepper, as sweet as she was, wasn't the best cook. Tony refused to try; he would just have bought shawarma. And Natasha? She had blown up the kitchen last time she tried to use it.

Steve cautiously walked towards the kitchen that was attached to the living room, and what he saw was probably more shocking then Natasha trying to kill him the day before. Pepper and Thor were sitting over, on the couches. It looked as if Pepper trying to explain the movie Mean Girls to their Asguardian friend. Bruce and Tony were sitting at the dining room table, having a huge discussion about their newest experiment.

Clint was the one who was cooking. The sandy blonde haired archer was at the stove, with a pan that by the smell of it, contained bacon. On the other side of Hawkeye there were stacks of pancakes on plates. And to the left of him was Natasha, sitting on the counter, watching him work with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Good morning, captain," Natasha hummed, taking a sip of the cup of coffee.

"Barton… You can cook?" Steve asked, bewildered. Clint just nodded in response.

"He's an amazing cook!" Natasha added, turning back to her partner. "Can we eat now?"

Clint chuckled slightly. "I'm not done cooking, Nat."

Natasha folded her arms and mumbled something to herself. Steve watched them for a few more moments before joining Thor and Pepper over by the television.

It was a few more minutes before they heard Clint announce, "Breakfast is ready!"

Bruce and Tony looked up from their work, glancing around. Then Tony pushed all of their papers and files off the table to make room for the food. Bruce yelped, bending down to pick everything up off the ground.

Thor and Steve darted towards the table and quickly took their seats. Both of them were happy to have something decent for breakfast for once since their stay at Stark Tower.

Pepper strolled over to the wooden table, taking a seat next to Tony. Naturally, she started to scold him for knocking all of Bruce and his work off the table.

Clint grabbed the large plate of bacon and a plate of pancakes, motioning for Natasha to help him with the other one. The redhead only stared at him like he was crazy.

"Do you really think I'm going to help you with that?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If you want to eat anything this morning, then yes, you will," Clint replied with a grin. Natasha rolled her eyes and picked up the last plate. Once everything had been set on the table, and everyone had taken their seats, the frenzy began.

Everyone tried to fill their plates as fast as they could. It seemed like their goal was to be as greedy as possible. Once their plates were stacked high with food, and everyone seemed happy, Tony decided to speak.

"So, I think I know what we should do today," Tony announced through a mouthful of pancakes and butter. Everyone else at the table groaned.

"I thought we said we weren't doing anything else today, Tony," Bruce pointed out.

"Yes, I also assumed that, Man of Iron," Thor said as he nodded in agreement. He swallowed piece of bacon whole before picking up another one and observing it. "I like this. Another!"

For some reason, everyone decided to ignore the fact that there was now greasy bacon on the dining room floor.

"Awww, come one, it'll be fun!" Tony whined, folding his arms in a pout.

"Tony," Pepper warned, hoping he wouldn't continue his thought.

Tony paused dramatically before saying, "We're going to have a scavenger hunt!"

Then everyone groaned once more.

"Seriously, Stark?" Natasha muttered.

"Yup. All you have to do is collect the four items on the list and beat everyone else back to the helicarrier first. It'll only take a few minutes," Tony explained.

Clint shrugged slightly. "Come on, Tasha, it doesn't sound too bad."

Natasha just shot him one of her infamous Black Widow glares.

"Only twenty minutes out of your day. What do you say?" Tony pressed, taking another bite of food.

Without knowing what they were getting themselves into, the Avengers and Pepper reluctantly agreed.

* * *

"Ok, everyone pick a partner," Tony order as he stood in front of all the Avengers and Pepper on the SHIELD helicarrier. They were in the room where the jets were kept. No one really knew why, except for Tony who couldn't stop grinning.

"But there are seven of us," Bruce observed.

Tony just shrugged his comment off. "There can be one group of three."

Thor turned to the person to his right, who happened to be Steve. "Do you wish to be partners, Steve, son of Roger?"

"Why not," Steve replied with a small smile at his teammate.

Natasha and Clint glanced at each other before taking a step closer together. They didn't need to say anything. It was pretty obvious that they would choose each other since they were already partners.

"I guess that leaves us," Tony said with a grin as he turned towards Pepper and Bruce. Pepper just gave her new teammates a smile. Bruce whispered, "The science bros and Pepper."

"Ok then," Tony continued, turning back to the whole group. Then he began to hand out a piece of paper. "Here's the list. Pick a jet. Whoever gets the majority of the objects on the list first, and beats everyone else back here first wins."

"Wait, I thought they had to get all four items," Pepper stated, confused.

Tony shrugged. "Rules change. Ready, set, go!"

The three teams all raced into the jets and took off into the sky. They all couldn't wait to get back to Stark tower in twenty minutes; little did they know it would take a lot longer than that.

* * *

"Friend Steve, could you please fly the large bird instead of me?" Thor almost begged as he tried to fly the jet over a forest in Canada.

Steve shifted in the co-pilot's seat uncomfortably as he glanced out the front window of the jet. "Um, I don't think I should…"

"Can you please take the controller?" Thor asked once more, referring to the wheel. Steve took a deep breath before nodding slowly.

"I guess so, but if I crash it into the Arctic Ocean, it's on you," the blonde super soldier mumbled as he and Thor switched seat. He sighed as he felt his hands touch the cold wheel. _Here goes nothing._

* * *

In the harsh tundra of northern Russia, Clint and Natasha's jet flew swiftly across the sky.

"Oh, god, let's get out of here as soon as possible," Natasha muttered as she glanced out the window with her bright green eyes. Clint didn't reply, he had his blue as fixed on the sky ahead. "Clint?"

"Hm?"

"Can we please hurry? Please?"

"We just have to get a stupid Santa flower vase or something Tony put in the mountains and then we'll go, ok?"

Natasha was silent for a moment before replying, "I hate this place, Clint, and I don't plan on coming back here ever again. Let's get that fucking vase and get the hell out of here."

* * *

"You gotta love the tropics!" Tony sung as Bruce flew their jet over the rainforest.

"Tony, when did you have time to hide a reindeer statue in the rainforest?" Pepper asked as she observed the list that Tony had handed out.

Tony was acting like an over-grown toddler about the scavenger hunt, not that Pepper or Bruce was very surprised. "Where do you think Happy was the week before he got off work for Christmas?"

Pepper let out a soft laugh before glancing over at Bruce. "Are we almost there?"

The scientist didn't reply, instead the only response was the whole jet being shaken slightly. The shaggy brown haired man turned to his teammates and smiled sheepishly, "We're here."

Tony snickered slightly, but Pepper only mumbling about having to pay for the repairs on the jet. The three of them exited the jet and looked around the huge rainforest.

"So where exactly is this statue?" Bruce asked as he looked up to observe the canopy level of the trees. Pepper glanced over at Tony, hoping for an explanation.

"Um…" the billionaire began as he searched the rainforest for any sign of his car. Suddenly, a toucan with a beautiful orange, yellow, and green beak landed on a tree branch beside them. It let out a loud squawk an beat it large wings. "Hey look, it's a bird! Hey birdie, show us where the statue is! Go on!"

"Tony, I seriously doubt the bird knows where you put your car," Pepper pointed out, letting out a small laugh. All of a sudden, the bird took off, flying into the trees.

Tony pointed at the toucan franticly. "See! I told you! Now let's go!"

Bruce and Pepper watched as Tony disappeared into the underbrush of the forest before sharing a concerned glance. "Tony, wait for us!"

"Hurry it up!" The genius hollered as he raced through the trees after the bird.

Pepper tried her best to run after Tony, but she kept tripping on her high heels. "I picked the wrong day to wear heels."

Bruce tried to keep up as well, but he didn't want his heart rate to get too high so he ran by Pepper's side.

Suddenly, Tony stopped in place about a hundred yards ahead of them. By the time they caught up with him, both Pepper and Bruce were breathing heavily. Then Pepper noticed he was staring at something. "Wha.."

Then she and Bruce both saw what Tony was staring at. There was the silver reindeer statue, the colorful toucan perched on its head. "Squawk!"

Tony turned back to his teammates and smiled. "Let's get it back to the jet and head for the last object on the list."

"Why the last one?" Bruce asked curiosusly.

"Because the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Hawk, Goldie Locks, and Capsicle probably already have the other two. Now hurry up!"

* * *

"Friend Steve, what are we looking for again?" Thor asked Steve as they walked through the wildlife filled forest of Canada.

Steve glanced at the list in his hand. "It says we have to get a fish bowl. Why the heck would Stark have a Christmas wine bottle? What is that anyway?"

"What is this so called 'wine bottle'?"

"It's a container for wine…" Steve replied as he stopped at the banks of a small lake. He looked into the clear lake at his reflection, getting lost in thought.

"Son of Rogers?" Thor spoke suddenly. Steve shook his head as if to get out of his little trance.

"Yes, Thor?"

"I believe that I have found the 'wine bottle'."

"What?" Steve's head snapped up as he turned to look at his teammate. "Where?"

Thor hesitated before pointing to the middle of the small lake. "There."

Steve blinked in confusion before turning his icy blue gaze to the middle of the lake. Sure enough, there was a colorful wine bottle with a christmas tree painted on the side sitting on the bottom of the lake. "Oh god."

There was silence before Steve finally spoke up, "There is no way I am getting that. I'm already flying the jet."

"It is alright, friend Steve. I can retrieve the 'wine bottle'," Thor assured him, taking his crimson cape off.

Steve gave Thor a surprised look. "Really?"

"Yes," Thor responded, looking into the water. "Lady Jane taught me how to swim last time I came to Earth."

"Oh," Steve mumbled as he took a small step back from the water. "Um, ok then. Whenever you're ready."

Thor nodded and dived into the crystal clear lake. Steve waited anxiously, pacing around the banks of the lake impatiently. After a few minutes, Thor resurfaced with the Christmas wine bottle in hand. The captain let out a sigh of relief as Thor made it to shore.

"Great! Now let's get to the last object on the list… The others are too far away. There's no way we're going all the way to Russia!"

* * *

"Oh my god it's freezing!" Clint complained as he and Natasha hiked through the Russian mountains, both of them covered in layers of coats.

"Deal with it you big baby," Natasha muttered.

Clint blinked in confusion as he gave her a questioning look. "Aren't you cold, too?"

Natasha rolled her eyes, "Russians don't get cold."

"Wait, didn't you say you were cold last night?"

Clint waited for Natasha to say something, but she didn't. He glanced over at her to see a huge smirk on her face. He chuckled slightly before looking down at the list. "Ok, so the vase should be somewhere around here."

Natasha blinked in confusion. "But there's nothing around here…"

Before either of them could say another word, a growl came from behind them. They both froze and slowly turned around to see a gigantic white bear standing behind them.

"Wait, don't polar bears live in the north pole?" Clint asked his partner in a whisper.

"Apparently not!" Natasha shouted, grabbing Clint's arm and started to run away.

The two continued to run, not stopping until they reached a steep, snowy cliff. They whirled around to see the polar bear still running towards them.

"Why does this always happen to us? It's like Budapest all over again!"

"Why does every damn thing remind you of Budapest!?"

Clint and Natasha waited for the polar bear to catch up to them and kill them, but that never happened. The huge bear froze in front of them and let out a roar before collapsing on the ground. The two assassins shared a confused glance before stepping towards it.

Clint observed the polar bear carefully. "Is it dead?"

"I don't know! Point the fucking thing!" Natasha scowled.

Clint hesitated before slowly leaning forward and poking the polar bear's furry shoulder. Suddenly, there was a huge snapping sound, and the polar bear split in half. Clint and Natasha's jaws dropped open as they saw a bunch of cogs and metal inside the polar bear, as well as a blue vase with a huge Santa on the side.

"It was a robot!" Clint whispered in shock as he slowly grabbed the blue vase. They both paused for a moment before screaming at the top of their lungs.

"STARK!"

* * *

"We're almost back at Stark Tower," Bruce announced from the pilot's seat.

"Good," Pepper mumbled, looking up from the list long enough to make eye contact with Tony. "The last object is a fire extinguisher? Really? Why isn't it a Christmas object?"

Tony's eyes sparkled with joy. He was obviously enjoying this whole Christmas scavenger hunt thing way too much. "Yup! I didn't want to pay for another object, and there were plenty of those in the lab."

Bruce chuckled slightly, but didn't say anything. Tony made things explode during their experiments all the time, and he remembered their recent accident all too well.

"There it is!" Tony squealed like a little kid as Stark Tower came into view. "And you can see the fire extinguisher on the top of the tower!"

Suddenly, two black shapes appeared in the horizon, making a beeline for Stark Tower.

"Uh oh. Tony, I think the others have caught up too."

And Pepper was right. Now they could see Thor and Steve's faces in the windows of one of the jets, and Clint and Natasha's in the other. Tony stood up and walked over to the speaker. "I think it's time to talk to everyone."

A loud creak echoed through the air as Tony flipped the switch to the speaker on. "Ok, everyone, let's decide who gets the last object in a nice orderly fashion…"

Suddenly, Clint and Natasha's jet's gun appeared on the side and began shooting at them.

"Dodge the bullets!" Pepper yelped as Bruce made the jet swerve out of the way.

"We're not giving up so easily. You tried to kill us with a freaking polar bear!" Natasha's voice came throughout their jet's speaker.

Pepper's eyes widened and she turned to Tony, hands on hips. "You sent a polar bear after them?"

"Technically, it was a robot," Tony pointed out. Pepper just shook her head in disbelief.

Suddenly, Natasha's voice echoed through the sky once more. "Fire!"

Gun shots rang in their ears as the assassins shot at them.

Tony slid into the co-pilot's seat, grabbing the shooting tool. "We can't just let them win! Fire team Stark, Potts, and Banner!"

* * *

"We have to get the fire extinguisher!" Steve exclaimed as he flew Thor and his jet out of Clint, Natasha, Tony, Bruce, and Pepper's shooting range.

Thor nodding as he glanced out of the window at the top of Stark Tower. "I could fly down there with Mjolnir, retrieve the object, and meet you back at the helicarrier."

Steve blinked in confusion before glancing over at Thor. "Are you sure you're ok with that?"

"Of course, Friend Steve. Make sure the 'fish bowl' arrives at the headquarters safely," Thor responded.

Steve nodded slowly. "Ok, good luck."

Thor raised his arm and began to swing his hammer in a circle. Then he hopped out of the jet, momentarily watching Steve begin to fly away before flying down in the chaos below.

"Gosh, Romanoff, stop trying to kill us!" Tony retorted into the speaker.

"Not until you give up!" Natasha shot back. Suddenly, much to Pepper, Bruce, and Tony's surprise, Clint and Natasha stopped shooting at them.

Tony listened to the silence with widened eyes. "That's it! We won!"

"No you didn't, Stark!" This time it was Barton's voice that came through the speaker. "Thor's got the fire extinguisher! He's heading towards the helicarrier!"

Tony's brown eyes darted around until the spotted Thor flying towards the helicarrier, where Steve was already parked. "We can't just let them win! After them!"

Both the jets turned around and headed towards the helicarrier, but it was too late. Thor and Steve already stood on the landing area, waving the fire extinguisher and the Christmas wine bottle in the air.

* * *

"Have you learned your lessons now?" Director Fury asked the Avengers as they stood on the streets of New York, cleaning up the mess they had made when they fired at each other.

"Yes, sir," the six of them muttered in unison.

Suddenly, Tony looked over at Fury and whined, "Why does Pepper not have to help?"

"I'm sure you just dragged poor Miss Potts into all of this," the dark skinned man snapped back. Pepper, who stood to his right, just gave Tony a small smile.

Then Fury turned to Natasha and Clint, his eye narrowed. "And I expected better from my two best agents. Well, I expected better from Romanoff at least. You two are grounded from going on missions until after Christmas."

Clint didn't seem too mad about this, but Natasha was another story.

"WHAT?!" The redhead screeched. "A mission was my only chance of getting out of being forced to celebrate Christmas with these people!"

"I'm sorry, Agent Romanoff, but it seems as if you have no choice now," Fury replied bluntly before turning around and walking away.

Natasha groaned slightly, putting her head in her hands.

"You finally have to celebrate Christmas with me this year," Clint said with a large grin.

"Oh goody," Natasha replied, her tone dripping sarcasm.

* * *

**I hope everyone like the second chapter! Please review, follow, and favorite!**

**pure-black-wings**


	3. 3: Decorating Stark Tower

**Ok, so here's chapter three! I hope you like it, I feel like it's not as good as the other two. I'm trying my best to keep my promise and finish all twelve chapters around Christmas time, but I have semester finals right now, and the homework and studying is overwhelming. I don't even get out of school until the day before Christmas. I promise I'll do my best the post chapters consistently, but I will most likely end up getting done around New Year's.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Decorating Stark Tower

The Avengers sat at their dining room table, staring at their lunch in horror. Everyone had turned down the idea of Pepper cooking, and Clint had said he was too tired to cook anything. (Even though Natasha mumbled that he was just too lazy.) So, it had been up to Tony to decide what they should eat. That was perhaps the biggest mistake they had made all week.

Sitting on their plates was shawarma, the last thing they ever wanted to see again.

"Um, Tony? What did I say about buying this stuff?" Pepper asked as she poked her food with her fork.

Tony dismissed her with a wave of the hand. "'It's disgusting and cheap', yeah, yeah, I know. But doesn't it bring back good memories?"

"NO!" Everyone shouted in unison.

Tony put a hurt looked on his face. "Touché."

"It isn't that bad," Steve said slowly, picking up his shawarma.

"Really?" Clint replied sarcastically. "Then eat it."

Steve quickly set the wrapped food back down on his plate. "No thanks."

Bruce remained silent for the most part, but he snickered at Steve and Clint's conversation.

"I don't know what you guys are complaining about; this stuff is great!" Tony exclaimed, stuffing his mouth full of shawarma.

Most of the other Avengers widened their eyes in disbelief. They couldn't quite believe that he actually took a bite out of it.

"Man of Iron is correct. It does not taste too foul."

They all froze, slowly turning to face Thor who was eating his shawarma happily. They stared at Tony and Thor, looks of horror covering their faces.

"They're poisoned! Run away!" Natasha shouted suddenly. Bruce, Steve, Clint, Natasha, and Pepper all turned and made a mad dash for the elevator.

Tony and Thor shared a confused glance before following them. "Aww, come on. You guys are overreacting; it's just food."

"Stay away from us!" Steve called out in response as the five 'non-infected' Avengers crowded into the elevator. Before any of them could push the 'bottom floor' button, JARVIS's voice rang through their ears.

"Sir, I believe the shipment you order is down stairs," the AI spoke in its British accent.

Bruce, whose finger was a centimeter away from the button, paused, a questioning look in his eyes.

"Um, Tony?" Pepper began slowly. "What shipment?"

A wide, excited smiled grew on Tony's face. "You'll see."

"How much did it cost? Because in April we still have to pay for…" the strawberry blonde's voice faded as if she didn't want to continue.

Suddenly, a look of confusion appeared on everyone's faces, except for Tony and Pepper of course.

"What happens in this 'April' that you speak of?" Thor asked.

"Well, this'll be fun. I'll tell you on the way down," the billionaire piped up as he and Thor pushed their way into the elevator.

"These elevators weren't meant to hold seven people," Natasha muttered from where she had been pushed up against the wall to make room for everybody else.

Clint grunted in agreement as the elevator doors shut. "So what happens in April?"

Pepper bit her lip as if she preferred to keep it a secret, but Tony didn't seem to mind letting his teammates know.

"Pepper and I are getting married."

There was silence for a few moments as everyone took in the information. Then they all began to congratulate the billionaire and his assistant. Everyone except for Natasha that is.

"How in your right mind could you marry him?" the redhead asked in disgust.

Pepper didn't reply; she just shrugged her shoulders and gave her friend a genially happy smile.

Suddenly, the elevator jerked to a stop, the large metal doors sliding on to reveal the lobby of Stark Tower. The Avengers made their way out of the elevator and followed Tony over to a UPS delivery man that stood by the tower's entrance.

The delivery man glanced at the Avengers before his eyes settled on Tony. "Are you Tony Stark?"

"Duh," Tony deadpanned before perking up. "Where is it?"

The man handed Tony his clipboard, pointing to a certain line on the paper. "Sign here and here, please."

The playboy quickly signed his name before glancing around eagerly. The delivery man took his clipboard back before strolling over to the doors. "Ok, bring it in, boys!"

Suddenly, about fifty other men came in, all carrying a large cardboard box. Once all the boxes had been set down and the men left, all the Avengers turned to Tony.

"What's in all of the boxes, Stark?" Steve asked curiously.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Tony replied with a grin.

The other Avengers and Pepper approached one of the boxes, working together to warm in slowly. What they saw was a shock to them all.

"Avengers, we're going to decorate Stark Tower."

* * *

"No, no, no, no, no!" Natasha growled, "There is no way I'm wasting my whole day throwing lights all over Stark's stupid tower!"

The Avengers and Pepper were in the living room, trying to decide what to do about Tony, who remained down stairs, and his boxes of Christmas decorations.

"I don't mind it. I think Tony's right, we need to get in the Christmas spirit," Steve piped up.

Thor nodded in agreement. "As an Asguardian, I too want to have the entire Christmas experience."

"I just wish he wouldn't have spent so much money on all the decorations," Pepper mumbled as she filled out a piece of paperwork to clear her mind.

"It's a waste of my time," Clint began slowly. "But if it annoys, Nat, I bet it'll be fun."

Natasha shot Clint a death glare before they all turned to Bruce.

Bruce's eyes widened slightly as he put his hand up in surrender. "Hey, don't look at me. I'm just along for the ride."

Natasha inhaled sharply. "I can't believe we're doing this."

"Well, let's go help him out then," Pepper sighed as she made her way over to the elevator once more.

* * *

"Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…" Tony sung, his voice cracking as he continued the well-known carol.

"For heaven's sakes, shut up!" Clint snapped as he and the other Avengers helped the billionaire unpack the many boxes.

Tony smirked slightly, but other than that he ignored the archer.

"Stark, I swear I will make sure you can never sing again if you don't shut up," Natasha threatened.

Tony ceased his singing, the smug smile remaining on his face. "Someday, I'll get you all to sing Christmas carols with me."

"I don't sing," Bruce piped up quietly, the others murmuring in agreement. Tony had a mischievous grin on his face; he would have to save that for another day.

When all the boxes had been unpacked, Steve turned to Tony and asked, "So, what do we do now?"

"Now we decorate," Tony announced. "Thor and I will decorate the outside of the tower. Pepper, you can do the bottom few floors. Steve, you do the next couple of floors. Bruce can do the middle levels. Clint and Natasha do the upper levels. Got it?"

The six others mumbled their replies before going up to the boxes to retrieve what they needed to decorate their floors. Steve was humming Christmas songs happy, while Bruce and Pepper collected their items in silence. Tony and Thor were discussing how they would set up the Christmas lights.

"Do you hate this as much as I do?" Natasha muttered to Clint as she grabbed a few Christmas lights.

Clint flashed his partner a cocky grin. "Nope. Lighten up, Nat, Christmas isn't that bad once you give it a chance."

"I doubt it," the redhead replied bitterly.

"Really?" Clint began, his stormy gray eyes sparkling in amusement. "Challenge accepted."

Before Natasha could reply, Tony spoke up. The brown haired man seemed way too happy about simply decorating. "Ok, guys. Let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

"Sir, what are you doing?" A woman asked Steve as he strung tinsel around the doorways of the bottom floor of Stark Tower.

"Decorating," the blonde haired man mumbled as he grabbed Christmas lights and wrapped them around random chairs and lights.

The woman, who wore a business suit, watched him curiously. "Are you sure you're allowed to be doing that?"

"Ma'am, Tony Stark is the one who talked me into doing this."

"Oh," she whispered before pausing momentarily. "I'll let you get back to it then."

Steve watched her leave before sighing deeply. People had been coming up to him all morning, asking what exactly he was doing. He didn't know that many people even came to Stark Tower! Well, in his offense, he did spend most his time in the Avenger's floor.

When Steve made the bottom floor of Stark Tower as sparkly as he could, he glanced around. With a deep breath, he mumbled, "Tony better think this is acceptable because I spent forever doing this."

The captain grabbed some tinsel, lights, stockings, and other decorations before heading towards the elevator. Great; one floor down, three more to go. Spending his whole day solitarily decorating his billionaire teammate's tower wasn't exactly his first chose on how to spend the day. Yet, Steve had to admit that he had been eager to celebrate Christmas. He hadn't celebrated the holiday in about eighty years, and he wanted to once more with his new family. Well, they were as close as he could get to family.

When Steve walked onto the next floor, he took a deep breath. _Almost done, _he told himself, hoping it was true. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Bruce's mind was focused on his newest experiment as he decorated his floors of Stark Tower. It was important that he and Tony finished it before Christmas, for that was the whole point in the experiment. It was meant to be a present for one of their teammates; he just hoped it would work.

Then his thoughts drifted towards the decorations he was putting up. He use to have a completely normal life before he and Betty started experimenting with gamma radiation. Would he have a normal life if that never happened?

Suddenly, Bruce began to wonder if he ever celebrated Christmas as a child. His childhood was a blur for the most part, and it didn't really matter anymore. All that mattered was his adult life.

With a sigh, he glanced around. Bruce couldn't help but wonder what the others were doing.

* * *

Pepper's attention was only half on the lights she strung around the room and the nativity sets she was setting up. She held a phone to her ear as she took work calls.

She knew that Tony would have taken her phone away from her, complaining that it was Christmas time and that she shouldn't be working. Yet, she couldn't help it. Pepper worked when she was bored, to get her mind off things, or simply because she knew that Tony wouldn't do any of the work himself.

"No, sir, you can't talk to Tony right now," Pepper spoke to her client on the phone.

The man on the other end of the phone sighed impatiently. "Well, why not?"

Pepper hesitated, unsure of what to say. The truth; that he was flying around in the Iron Man suit putting up Christmas lights? "Mr. Stark is currently busy."

She hung up the phone, setting it down on a nearby table before sighing. Then she picked up a poinsettia and set it on a random spot on a desk. When did Tony have time to buy all of this stuff anyway? And it would take forever to take down… Never mind that. She would just hire someone to take it all down. Tony had enough money; he could afford to spend some of it on that.

* * *

"There! Perfect!"

Clint blinked in confusion. What was she so happy about all of a sudden? The sandy blonde haired archer turned around to see Natasha looking proudly at the wall in front of her. When he spotted what she had been so happy about, he inwardly face palmed.

Natasha had taken a bunch of red lights and made a huge red hourglass on the wall.

"Nat, what the heck did you do?" Clint asked with a sigh.

The redhead raised an eyebrow slightly. "What? I think it rocks."

Clint just shook his head in disbelief and let out a small chuckle. "You know you're going to have to take that down, right?"

"What Stark doesn't know won't hurt him. Anyway, if I'm going to be forced to put up decorations, I'm doing it my way," Natasha retorted before going over to the pile of decorations.

"Sometimes I swear you're batshit insane," Clint muttered.

"What was that, _dear_?"

"Nothing, _sweetheart_."

"Thought so," Natasha replied before pausing slightly. "And if you ever call me sweetheart again, you better sleep with one eye open."

"You're the one who started it!" Clint protested.

"Stop acting like a toddler, Barton."

"Just keep putting up the freaking lights, Romanoff."

* * *

"Just put the Christmas tree on top," Tony's voice said through the Iron Man suit.

Thor nodded and grabbed ahold of the Christmas tree before using his hammer to fly to the top of the tower. Once he reached the top, he set the tree down before stepping back to observe it. There seemed to be something missing…

Meanwhile, Tony was busy flying around the tower in circles, wrapping multi-colored Christmas lights around he was done with that, he outlined the letters spelling STARK, which had been repaired since the battle of Manhattan, in red and green Christmas lights.

There, that seemed to look good. Now to see what Thor was up to. "Hey, Goldie Locks, you done yet?"

"Indeed, Man of Iron! Come up and look!"

Tony flew up to the top of Stark Tower, and when he saw the Christmas tree he stared at it in confusion. "Thor, why are there poptart boxes on the tree."

"'Poptarts' are quite festive, do you not agree?" The thunder god said with a smile.

"Whatever, it looks great. It seems like we're all done here."

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Tony asked as the Avengers decorated the Christmas tree on their floor.

"Good," Pepper replied without another word.

Tony grinned. "You were working, weren't you?"

The lack of response was all the answer he ended. "And how about everyone else?"

"Great," Steve replied.

"Pretty good," Bruce said quietly.

"It was most enjoyable!" Thor chuckled.

Clint shrugged. "It was ok."

"Okay," Natasha echoed.

"Ok? I thought you said you hated putting up Christmas decorations," Tony said. "What changed?"

"Nothing," the redhead replied bluntly.

Clint snickered. "She may have put a huge Black Widow symbol on the wall."

"Damn it, Red! That wasn't the deal!"

"Piss off, Stark!"

After a lot of arguing and trying to settle everyone down, the Avengers ended up falling asleep on the couches.

* * *

**I know, this chapter was kind of short. I'll try to make the next one longer. Please, review, follow, and favorite. Reviews encourage me to finish up the next chapter!**

**pure-black-wings**


	4. 4: The Pros and Cons of Ice Skating

**Here's chapter 4. Thanks for all the reviews I got for the last chapter! I really appreciate it! Also, I want everyone to know that I already have all of the chapters planned out. I know there are a lot of Avengers Christmas fanfics, and I just wanted everyone to know that I'm not copying anyone. And I know I haven't been putting disclaimers on everything, but I put it on the first chapter, and I'm pretty sure everyone here knows that I don't own any of this. I suppose I'll put a disclaimer on this chapter anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I don't know Marvel or the Avengers.**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Pros and Cons of Ice Skating

"Rudolf the red nosed reindeer has a very shiny nose…"

The lyrics rang through Bruce's ears, making him jolt awake. He glanced around to see all the other Avengers and Pepper lying on the three couches, all of them waking up as well. Then he turned his attention to the annoying Christmas music to see Tony sitting on the ground in front of the tv, singing along the Christmas movie.

"What the hell," Clint muttered as he glared over at Tony. "Why the heck are you watching that movie?"

Tony just gave all of them a mischievous grin and continued singing. Thor and Steve shared a confused look before turning to watch the movie since neither of them had seen it before. Natasha, who they all knew wasn't much of a morning person, looked like she could kill Tony, which none of them were very surprised about.

"Tony, turn the tv off," Pepper mumbled, throwing one of the couch cushions at his head. The brown haired billionaire flinched when the huge pillow hit him and turned to look at the strawberry blonde.

"Heeeyyy!" Tony whined, folding his arms in a pout. Pepper just put a stern look on her face and pointed towards the television. The genius sighed before pressing the 'power' button on the tv. Pepper smiled in triumph as the screen went black.

Suddenly, Bruce, Steve, Thor, Clint, and Natasha began clapping.

Tony turned to his teammates and gave them a confused look. "What's with the round of applause?"

"It's for Pepper," Steve piped up.

"Yeah, because she's the only person in this world who can actually shut you up," Natasha added.

Tony frowned. "My whole team is against me."

"Get used to it," Clint murmured.

Pepper remained silent, she just shot Tony an apologetic look. He sighed and glanced at the others. "So what do you guys want to do today?"

"Work," Pepper mumbled.

"Finish our experiment," Bruce said quietly.

"Buy more poptarts," Thor bellowed before adding, "Or visit Lady Jane."

Steve shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me."

"Sleep," Clint snapped, obviously not having a good day so far.

"Ice skating?" Natasha suggested.

Tony thought for a moment before beginning to reply, pointing at each person as he replied to their suggestion. "Boring, no, too far away, not helpful, boring. And for once Little Red actually has a good idea!"

Everyone else muttered in reluctant agreement, while Natasha gave Tony a glare for giving her a new nickname.

"Where did that suggestion come from?" Steve asked curiously.

Natasha didn't say anything, she just shrugged.

"Probably because she's called the ice queen," Tony muttered.

The redhead whirled around to face him, her eyes narrowed. "What did you just call me?"

"What, you thought I made that one up? Naw, everyone at SHIELD has been calling you that lately."

Natasha blinked in surprise before turning to glare at Clint. "You knew about this?"

The archer's only response was a sheepish smile that earned him a pillow to the face. Tony snickered; therefore he gained the same punishment as Clint. Soon enough, everyone had gotten one of the couch pillows thrown at their head.

Now, Pepper knew that the Avengers were childish, but when Tony screamed "Pillow fight", she hadn't expected every single one of them to react the same way. By literally attacking each other.

The strawberry blonde had no interest in having a pillow fight with a god, a super soldier, a scientist with anger issues, a billionaire with a robot suit, and two assassins. There was no way she was doing that. So instead, Pepper went into her room, locked the door, and watched chick-flicks for the next hour and a half.

* * *

"What the heck happened in here?" Pepper shrieked as she walked into the living room for the first time in an hour and a half. The room was completely destroyed; feathers everywhere and markings on the couches where bullets went in.

"It wasn't my fault!" Tony protested, running towards the strawberry blonde with his arms flailing. "It was them! They tried to kill me! And Bruce…"

Bruce perked up at the sound of his name before shaking his head. "I didn't do anything wrong. I just was having a little fun."

Pepper froze slightly. Bruce being optimistic? What the hell… Tony let out a scared laugh. "Seriously? The Hulk decided to join the pillow fight!"

"He was just letting off a little steam! Aren't you the one always saying he should have some fun every once and awhile?"

"He didn't seem like he was trying to play nice," Steve piped up from behind one of the couches where he sat with his arms around his knees. Bruce just shrugged while Tony snickered.

"Awww, Cap finally spoke up," a familiar voice chuckled from above. Tony, Pepper, Bruce, and Steve glanced around in confusion until it added, "It's that sweet, Nat?"

"Charming," the Black Widow's voice deadpanned.

Suddenly, the four of them looked up at the entrance to the air vents to see Natasha and Clint both watching them. Tony gaped slightly. "That's where you went! The two of you disappeared and started shooting at us!"

"I'm a hawk," Clint said with a shrug as if that explained everything.

Tony shook his head before glancing at Natasha. "And what about you? The spider's adapted her hawk's ways?"

Natasha growled and narrowed her eyes, but Clint just gave her a lopsided grin. He was repaid by being pushed out of the vent and landing on the floor with a thud.

"Oh, look like you hit nerve," Tony teased.

"Naaattt!" Clint whined as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Natasha just stuck her tongue out at him before disappearing into the vents.

There was silence for a moment before Steve spoke. "Are we going ice skating? Because if so, we need to find Natasha and Thor."

A mischievous look glinted in Clint's eyes. "I'll find Tasha." And with that, he crawled back into the vents, vanishing from sight.

"Okay… When was the last time anyone saw Thor?" Tony asked, turning to the others. Pepper shrugged, she didn't know; she had been in her room the whole time. Bruce just stared at him blankly; he had hulked out and remembered nothing. It was Steve who cleared his throat.

"He left before the pillow fight ended… Said something about going to the store."

"What would the thunder god get at the store?" Tony asked curiously. As if answering his question, the elevator dinged open, revealing Thor with plastic bags filled with pillows and huge boxes.

"Hello, friends! I figured that our space of living would not be intact once our battle was over, so I used the magical card of credit to buy new fluffy squares and sitting spaces," Thor explained, holding up the credit card and gesturing to the boxes and bags.

Pepper smiled, at least one person in this crazy place had some sense. "Well, what do you know?"

"Thanks, Thor old pal!" Tony said with a grin as he pulled his credit card from Thor's grasp.

"Now if we can only find Clint and Natasha…" Bruce mumbled.

Steve blinked in confusion. "The vents aren't that big… Are they?"

Suddenly, an ear-piercing laugh rang through their ears. They all looked around, startled, until they realized the laugh was coming from the vents.

"CLINT BARTON STOP TICKLING ME!" Natasha's voice screeched between laughs.

From in the vents, Clint Barton grinned. "Nope, not till you apologize."

"Never!" the redhead hissed playfully, kicking him in the chest and darting away from him. Clint chased after her, until they both ended up falling out of the vents onto the living room floor in a fit of laughter. Thor, Bruce, Steve, Pepper, and Tony all stared at them like they were crazy. The two assassins just glared back as if to say 'you didn't see anything'.

When Natasha and Clint stood up, the other Avengers acted as if they had never saw the assassins' laughing fit. They all believed it was for their own safety that they obeyed the SHIELD agents' request.

"So… Ice skating?"

* * *

"You guys ready?" Natasha asked as they all stepped towards the ice skating rink.

Tony snorted. "You're acting like it's going to be hard! Come on, it's just ice skating."

Pepper let out a short laugh. Only Pepper, Natasha, and Steve had ever learned how to ice skate, the others had never done it before in their lives.

"Sure it is, Tony. It took me a year just to learn not to fall down!" Steve mumbled. Pepper and Natasha grinned at each other before stepping onto the ice with ease. Steve followed and began to skate off around the rink, leaving the others alone.

Tony snorted as he stepped onto the ice, continuing to claim it was easy. That was when he fell on his face. Pepper giggled before offering him her hand, which he used to pull himself to him feet. Then Pepper skated off, Tony clutching her hand.

Bruce hesitated before joining Pepper, Tony, and Steve on the ice. He started skating slowly, and shaking slightly, but for the most part it was a breeze. The brown haired scientist stumbled as he skated to the far corner of the rink.

Thor had never actually skated before, but apparently he had tried something similar in Asguard. He tripped a few times, but overall he was fairly well-balanced.

Natasha was of course amazing. She danced around the ice gracefully, giving Clint smug looks. Clint was the worst skater out of them all. He fell down every time he started again. Even Tony could almost stand up with Pepper's help.

"Natasha!" Clint yelped, grabbing her hand as she skated by and pulling them both to the ground.

Natasha gave her infamous Black Widow glare as she stood up, brushing herself off. "What the hell, Clint?"

"You gotta help me! Even Tony is laughing at me!" Clint complained. Just then Tony and Pepper skated by and sure enough Tony was snickering at the archer.

"Hm… Sure," Natasha replied, getting a cheer from her partner. "But, you have to say please."

"No!" Clint protested with a horrified look on his face.

Natasha simply rolled her eyes. "Stop with the melodramatic crap and do it."

"Fine. Will you _please_ help me?"

"That's more like it," Natasha replied with a grin as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him to his feet. Clint stumbled violently as he was pulled to his feet before glancing over at his partner. The redhead smiled evilly. She was enjoying having the upper hand way too much.

"Just start slowly. Don't focus on what you're doing too much," she suggested, slowly beginning to skate once more. Clint tried to do what she said, but he ended up pulling both him and Natasha to the ground again.

Natasha sighed and pulled Clint to his feet. Then she grabbed his hand and started to skate again. "I'm going to teach you to ice skate if it kills me, Barton."

"Hey, Steve," Bruce greeted as he skated up to the super soldier.

Steve gave Bruce a surprised look, but smiled anyway. "Wow, you're really getting the hang of this, aren't you?"

Bruce shrugged. "It isn't that hard. Well, maybe to Tony and Clint at least."

Then the two looked over at Tony and Clint. Tony was doing his best, and at least he wasn't falling anymore. Yet, he had onto Pepper's arm for dear life and he didn't let go throughout the entire time they were at the rink. And then there was Clint. The poor guy was being dragged around by Natasha, who was completely determined to teach him how to ice skate. He was doing slightly better, but not really.

Steve chuckled before pausing slightly. "And where's Thor?"

"Hello, Friend Steve!" Thor replied as he skated by the two of them.

Steve and Bruce shared a glance before the super soldier asked, "Should we try to catch up to him?"

"As long as my pulse doesn't get too high," Bruce said with a faint smile.

"Pepper!" Tony whined, glancing around. "This is torture. Let's go home."

"Tony, this is the only thing the others have actually wanted to do. If you're going to drag them around for the next eight days, you're going to have to let them do something they want to do too," Pepper pointed out, skating to a stop. Then she shook her arm as if trying to get Tony off. "And can you please let go? You're cutting off the circulation in my arm."

Tony sighed and released his grasp on Pepper's arm. He stumbled slightly at first, but he actually managed to stand up straight. "Are you sure they'll complain less if I let them do this?"

"I'll complain less," Pepper corrected in a sing-song voice.

Tony sighed and grabbed Pepper's arm again, but this time loosening his grip. "Fine, as long as I can still hold onto your arm."

"Done deal," Pepper replied with a smile as she pecked Tony's cheek. Tony seemed to perk up at that, and didn't complain for the rest of their time at the ice rink.

* * *

At the end of the day, all the Avengers ended up back at the tower, replacing their destroyed furniture with the new ones that Thor had bought.

* * *

**So there's chapter 4! I'm not sure if it had a lot of humor in it, but there it is. Also, reviews encourage me to update faster, and make my day! :)**

**pure-black-wings**


	5. 5: Last Minute Christmas Shopping, Etc

**Happy New Year! I know I originally planned for this to be twelve chapters long, but it's now only going to be six. It's already New Year's Eve, so I'm just going to post the Christmas day chapter tomorrow. And the idea of Tony clutching onto Pepper's arm while ice skating was inspired by my trip to the roller skating rink with my best friend, whose account on fanfic is Rosethornee. And thanks to anyone who reviewed! Reviews make my day.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel, the Avengers, any of the Christmas carols used in this fanfic, or YouTube. :)**

* * *

Chapter 5: Last Minute Christmas Shopping, Friends, and Caroling

"Oh, Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree! Something, something, something!" Tony's voice rang throughout Thor's ears. The thunder god awoke with a jolt, glancing around in confusion. Was the Man of Iron calling for help, or was this just another one of his 'Christmas' traditions? Either way, he better take Mjolnir with him just in case.

Grabbing his hammer, Thor went over to his door and peeked into the hallway. Pepper, Steve, Bruce, Clint, and Natasha were all standing there, muttering in confusion.

"What has happened, my friends?" Thor asked in the quietest voice he could manage, which was pretty much a normal tone.

Bruce just gave him a small shrug, while Steve remained staring into the living room. Natasha glared at everyone and continued mumbled to herself. Clint and Pepper seemed to be the only ones that weren't either too surprised or annoyed to answer.

"It's her crazed fiancé," Clint grumbled, pointing at Pepper accusingly.

Pepper held her hands up in surrender. "I may be able to control him most the time, but I'm not a miracle worker."

Then the two began an argument, leaving Thor standing in his doorway, still as confused as ever. Whatever Tony Stark did this time, he even managed to piss poor Pepper off.

The blonde Asguardian stepped into the living room, only to find Tony acting like a complete idiot. He had a movie on tv that Thor didn't recognize, and was skipping around the living room, singing what he was told were 'Christmas carols'.

"Metal man!" Thor bellowed as he entered strolled up to Tony, who immediately stopped singing. The other Avengers watched the two curiously, unsure of what was going to happen next.

Tony waited a few seconds before saying, "Yes?"

"Why did you not think to wake us up to join you in this Christmas celebration?"

Thor's response made Tony grin ear-to-ear, and the other Avengers groan.

"Well, if you want to join me, here ya go!" Tony picked up a few lyric sheets off of the new wooden table and handed them to Thor, who observed them for a few moments before bursting out into song. Then Tony and Thor before resumed skipping around the living room, singing 'jingle bells'.

"Oh, God, please save us!" Clint shouted, facing the ceiling.

Natasha hit him hard in the arm as if to say, 'I'm not in the mood right now, shut the hell up.'

"Stark, is this really necessary?" Steve asked as he slowly made his way over to the couch.

"Of course it is!" Tony replied with a grin.

The other Avengers followed Steve, watching Tony and Thor with pure annoyance. It was Bruce who added, "Please, cut it out."

"Yeah," the others yelled in unison.

"None of my teammates have any Christmas spirit!" Tony observed in mock horror, "which is why we are all going Christmas caroling today."

"NO!" Everyone, except Thor and Tony, shouted in unison. Thor just blinked in confusion for he didn't see a reason to reject the idea.

Tony put a hurt look on his face. "Awwww, why not?"

"Because none of us has gone Christmas shopping yet," Bruce pointed out. The others nodded in agreement.

"How about we all going to work together to come up with each other's presents so that instead of buying everyone something, everyone just gets one group present," Tony suggested. "Boys can group together to buy the girls gifts and vice-versa."

"Wow, Tony actually had a good idea," Clint said sarcastically, getting a small snicker from Natasha.

Pepper shot the two a glare that said, 'leave my fiancé alone', before adding, "We probably have to wait until the others get here."

Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, and Thor all stared at Pepper and Tony in shock. "Others?"

Pepper gave Tony a surprised look, who just smiled sheepishly in return. "Oh yeah... I was supposed to tell you guys that I invited some friends to spend Christmas Eve and day with us…"

Before anyone could argue, the elevator dinged and the large doors slid open. The Avengers turned towards the elevator to see something that shocked them all. Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, and Betty Ross were standing there. Jane and Darcy waved, while Betty just stared at them in disbelief.

"LADY JANE, YOU ARE HERE!" Thor exclaimed as he went over to the scientist, giving her a huge hug. Jane laughed as a smile appeared on her face, "I can't believe you're actually here! Tony called me and invited Darcy and I, but I had doubts that you would actually be here."

Thor kissed her lightly before turning to Darcy. "Friend Darcy, it's good to see you again!"

"You too, blondie," the raven haired girl replied before crashing on one of the couches.

"Hey Bruce," Betty greeted quietly, waving to her formerly co-worker. Bruce gave her a shy smiled in return. She slowly walked over to him, watching him carefully.

"I… I didn't know you would be coming," Bruce spoke suddenly.

Betty smiled slightly. "I didn't either. Mr. Stark told me you were here and asked if I wanted to come… I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. Good to see you again, Betty," he replied before pulling her into an awkward hug.

"Awww, look at them! Jane, give me your phone, this would make the perfect Facebook picture," Darcy exclaimed. Bruce and Betty quickly pulled away, shifting uncomfortably.

Jane rolled her eyes slightly. "She always tries to use my phone. She's not over the fact that SHIELD took her ipod away."

"Do you know how many songs I had on that thing?!"

As if to stop an argument from starting, Steve cleared his throat. "So who else is going to make an unexpected arrival?"

"Well, nobody else today. Fury, Agent Hill, Erik Selvig, and Rhodey are going to come over in the morning for brunch…" Tony began.

"YAY FRIEND SELVIG!" Thor cheered.

Clint stared at Tony like he was crazy. "You invited Hill and Fury to brunch?! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Tony shrugged while Darcy chuckled. "Good to see ya again, Clint."

Natasha shot Darcy a death glare, making her flinch slightly. Then she turned to Clint. "What did I do to her?!"

"You called Legolas by his first name. Little Red over here is very protective of her Hawk," Tony piped up with a chuckle, earning him a hard punch in the shoulder.

"Shut the hell up," Natasha snarled.

"Nat, behave. We have guests," Clint said to his partner. Natasha mumbled something under her breath that sounded like a Russian curse word. Then the archer added, "I met Darcy in New Mexico. She was the only one with a sense of humor in that place."

"Why thank you," Darcy replied with a mock bow before turning to Tony. "So, where are our rooms?"

"There are three extra rooms in the hallway," Tony replied, pointing towards the hallway in the back of the living room.

Bruce blinked in confusion. "Wait, I thought there were only two available rooms."

Tony grinned slightly. "Well, one of them isn't ever used so…"

Jane, Betty, and Darcy looked confused, but Bruce, Natasha, Steve, Clint, Thor, and Pepper seemed to understand exactly what Tony was saying.

"Mind your own fucking business, Stark," Natasha muttered.

"Can't you say a single sentence without cussing?!" Tony complained.

Clint chuckled slightly. "Have you even met her? She can't go a day without cursing. Anyway, come on, Nat. It's not like you ever use your own room."

"Whatever," Natasha replied before going to get her belongings out of her room. Minutes later, she came out carrying a few clothing items and three bags full of weapons.

Jane, Darcy, and Betty shared shocked glances, Thor, Steve, Bruce, and Pepper stared at the weapons in disbelief, and Tony and Clint burst out laughing. Natasha gave them a confusion look. "What? I'm an assassin."

They simply watched as she dragged the bags into Clint's room. Then Tony said, "Ok, put your stuff in your rooms and we can finish up Christmas shopping."

Just as they were about to put their stuff in their temporary rooms, the elevator doors opened once more to revile an angry Nick Fury and an annoyed looking Loki.

"What the…"

"Why did an Asguardian drop Loki off at the heliarrier?!" Fury scowled, shoving Loki, who was handcuffed, towards the Avengers. Betty's eyes widened and she stepped toward Bruce. Tony eyed Loki suspiciously before glancing over at Pepper. Steve just seemed flat out confused, while Thor stepped in front of Jane protectively. Clint and Natasha simply narrowed their eyes, and Darcy waved.

Clint glanced around before looking over at Fury. "I don't know, sir, but I'd love to use him as a punching bag."

"I thought you only sparred with one person, Agent Barton," Loki replied innocently, before he gave Natasha a mischievous grin.

That seemed to make up Natasha's discussion for her. "I agree with Barton, Loki's dense head would make a wonderful target."

Fury sighed. "Sadly, I can't allow you two to do that. The Asguardian said without Thor keeping him in line, Loki has been causing even more mischief than usual. So, he's Thor's problem."

"Brother!" Thor exclaimed, giving Loki a tight hug. Loki winced slightly, taking a deep breath when he was finally released from his adopted brother's grasp.

"Um, excuse me, but is he staying here?" Jane asked slowly.

"Heck no!" Tony shouted, everyone else murmuring in agreement. "Put him in a jail cell or something."

Thor gave Tony a hurt look. "But I wish to spend my first Christmas with my brother."

"Fine, whatever. Bring him over in the morning," Tony added.

"I don't want this guy on my helicarrier."

"Just for a day," Tony promised.

Fury grunted before grabbing Loki and dragging him away. Then Tony turned to the others. "Ok, let's go Christmas shopping!"

"You know what, I already finished all my Christmas shopping. I'll keep the prisoner some company," Darcy spoke up.

Jane gave Darcy a surprised look. "But what if he hurts you?"

Darcy shrugged before following Nick. "Hey, pirate! Wait up!"

They all watched the black haired girl disappear into the elevator before Steve said, "Um… Ok then."

* * *

_A few hours later…_

"Did we get everything for the guys?" Jane asked, turning her gaze towards Pepper.

Pepper pulled out the shopping list and skimmed her eyes over the piece of paper. Then she turned to Jane, Natasha, and Betty and smiled. "Yep, we're done!"

"Finally," Betty breathed. "I mean, not that I didn't enjoy shopping with you three, I just don't think I can carry these bags much longer."

Natasha brushed her curly red hair behind her ears. "I hate shopping. I've never liked it."

"Well, how about we go get something to eat? There's a sandwich shop not too far from here," Pepper suggested.

"Good idea!" Betty replied.

Jane smiled. "I suppose so. The boys shouldn't be done for a while."

"Why not," Natasha piped up.

The four of them made their way over to the restaurant. Then they set their bags on the ground, happy to not have to carry the weight anymore. There was silence for a few minutes before Jane spoke.

"So… How did you guys get involved in this? I mean like SHIELD and the whole thing," the brunette asked, trying her best to start a conversation.

"Well…" Betty replied slowly. "Bruce and I were scientists. We were trying to work together to recreate the super solder serum, but it went terribly wrong, and that's how the… other guy was created."

The others could tell she hadn't told the whole story, but they didn't mind. If it was a touchy subject, they weren't going to push it.

"My story is pretty simple," Pepper piped up. "I decided to try to become Tony Stark's assistant, and he let me. After that, well, the whole Afghanistan thing was all over the news… Nothing much to tell."

Natasha snorted slightly. "Wow, it's interesting to see how accurate SHIELD's files are."

"Do we all have files?" Betty asked curiously. Natasha only nodded in response.

Jane was the next to speak. "I was doing an experiment with Darcy and Erik Selvig during a storm. Then I accidently ran over Thor."

Natasha laughed lightly, while Pepper blinked. "You ran over the god of thunder?"

"Well, he wasn't exactly… sane when he first came to Earth. He was pretty confused. I was the one who was curious enough to try to help him get his hammer back," Jane explained.

"Cool!" Betty said with a smile, before the three girls turned to Natasha.

There was silence for a few moments before Jane spoke, "Natasha, are you going to tell us your story?"

"You've never even told me," Pepper pointed out. That's true, being the only other girl in the tower, Natasha and Pepper had grown to be good friends, but she tended to keep her history to herself.

Natasha scoffed. "That's classified."

"Come on, Miss Romanoff, we've all gone through hard times. We won't judge you," Betty spoke.

"Yeah, and we won't tell anyone," Jane added.

Natasha observed at the three girls for a moment before sighing. "Fine, although it's not a pleasant story. Not even close."

Neither Jane, Pepper, nor Betty was sure to reply, so they just waited for the assassin to speak. And when the redhead did, it was in a hushed tone,

"I lived with my family in Moscow, although I don't remember anything before I was five. When I turned five, the Red Room burned my house down, killed my family and took me. They trained me to be the perfect spy, the emotionless and skilled Black Widow. I went on missions for them and whoever would hire me, getting punished when I did things wrong. I don't know how many people I killed, but it was enough to get SHIELD after me. Then they sent Clint after me."

"Then what?" Betty asked in a whisper. They could tell that what she had told them was more of a none detailed summery, but it was enough to get them interested. Plus, they didn't dare ask the Black Widow for more information.

A ghost of smile appeared Natasha's face, a truly rare sight indeed. Then she repeated something she had said a million times before, "Agent Barton was sent to kill me. He made a different call."

"Awwww," Betty, Jane, and Pepper said in unison, making Natasha raise an eyebrow.

Jane smiled. "You have to admit that that's pretty sweet."

"Yeah, are you two a couple?" Betty asked.

Natasha froze when she heard this before shaking her head. "Love is for children, I owe him a debt." The statement was almost mechanical and it came out of her mouth easily. It was almost like second nature to her.

Pepper looked almost hurt. "Love isn't for children."

"Yeah, what about Thor and I, or Pepper and Tony?" Jane asked.

"Or what Bruce and I use to be?" Betty added her voice barely audible.

Natasha refused to look at them as she responded. "In my line of work, love is a weakness. It can get you compromised, or killed."

Betty watched the redhead carefully before replying, "Natasha, if you care about him, tell him while you have the chance."

Natasha just shook her head before standing up. "Let's get back to the tower. I bet the boys are done shopping now."

The other three shared a glance before nodding. "Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

"Heya, Loki," Darcy greeted the god as she casually strolled into the jail cell.

The raven haired man gave an unreadable look before grumbling, "What are you doing here, mortal?"

"Mortal? Seriously, dude? My name's Darcy Lewis," she replied before sitting down on the hard ground beside him.

He observed her for a moment before sighing. "Loki. Loki Laufeyson."

"Yeah, yeah, I know who you are."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yup, you tried to kill me and my friends. In New Mexico, remember?" Darcy asked.

"Ah, yes," Loki said with a grin. "Although you did not try to fight, am I correct?"

Darcy snorted slightly. "Fight? Are you kidding me? I'm only dealing with this for three reasons. One, Jane's my friend. Two, I work for her; I'm her intern. And three, SHIELD took my ipod."

"Ipod?" Loki repeated in a questioning voice.

Darcy stared at him like he was crazy. "You don't know what and ipod is?" The lack of a response was enough for her. "It's just some technology thingy with songs and stuff."

"How wonderful at explaining things you are, Lewis."

"Oh look, the aliens can be sarcastic. I didn't know that was possible, Thor doesn't seem capable of it."

"My idiot brother is not capable of many things," Loki replied before silence filled the air for a moment. "I believe that you are the only Midguardian that has had a full conversation with me, and has not completely loathed me from the start."

Darcy just shrugged. "I think you're cool. Wanna play monopoly?"

Loki stared at her in confusion. "Monopoly?"

"Yeah, it's a board game," Darcy replied as she set down a small, a lot flat box. "Wanna play? I could teach you how."

"Whatever gets you to stop talking."

"I think I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

"Friend Steve!"

The familiar voice of Thor echoed throughout Steve's ears as he stood in front of a store. The blonde haired soldier turned to see Thor and Bruce coming towards him. "Did you guys get everything on your list?"

"Yeah. How about you guys?" Bruce asked.

"We did, too."

"Then why are Tony and Clint in there?" The brown haired scientist asked, looking into the store windows.

Steve smiled lightly. "Tony talked us into buying one last gift."

A confused look appeared on Bruce's face, but it only took him a moment to understand. It seemed as if Thor understood as well, for realization dawned on his face.

"Are my thoughts correct? Are Man of Iron and Eye of Hawk purchasing what I believe they are?" Thor asked happily.

"Yeah, Thor, they are," Steve responded. He wasn't sure what exactly Thor was thinking, it could be poptarts, or even a flat screen tv for all he knew, but he wasn't really in the mood for explaining at the moment.

Just then, Tony and Clint walked out of the store, joining Steve, Bruce and Thor.

"I think we're done here. Let's head back to the tower," Tony spoke.

Thor looked over at the plastic bag that Clint carried. "Did you retrieve the poptarts?"

"What?"

"Was that not what you were buying?"

Steve couldn't help but chuckle. He so knew that that's what Thor was thinking.

Tony sighed and patted Thor's shoulder. "No, Point Break, that's not what we were buying."

"You know what, we should probably return it," Clint said suddenly, turning around to walk back into the store.

Before he could open the doors, Tony grabbed his arm. "No need to fret, Legolas. It'll be fine."

Clint hesitated before pulling away from Tony's grasp and heading towards the tower. "You better be right."

Steve, Thor, Bruce, and Tony watched their teammate walk towards the tower before following him.

Tony leaned over to Steve and whispered, "I sure hope it works. I bet Fury twenty bucks."

"You bet with Nick Fury? Stark, he never loses."

"Oh, shut it."

* * *

Once all the Avengers, Pepper, Jane, Betty, and Darcy all returned back to their floor in Stark Tower, they quickly went to wrap their presents. When they were done, they all went into the living room.

"Ok everyone, since we were unable to go Christmas caroling this morning, we're gonna sing now," Tony announced, getting a groan from the others. Then he walked around to the three couches, handing out music sheets.

"Oh, Tony," Pepper mumbled, staring at the sheet.

"What? It'll be fun," Tony insisted.

Steve, Bruce, Thor, Jane, and Betty didn't complain, they didn't seem to have a problem with it. The others didn't like the idea.

Darcy frowned slightly. "Stark, my singing sucks."

"No one cares, Lewis. I doubt anyone here can actually sing," Tony replied. Suddenly, he heard Natasha snicker. He turned his head to see Clint shifting uncomfortably and Natasha smirking. "What did I miss?"

"Clint can sing," Natasha stated, getting a glare from her partner.

"Cannot."

"Can, too."

"Damn it, Natasha! I thought I told you not to tell anyone," Clint snapped.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "When have I ever listened to you?"

Clint ignored his partner, turning his stormy gaze to Tony. "Natasha can sing too."

Natasha froze, her jaw clenched. "You can't prove that. I've never sung anything in front of you before."

"You sang in the shower in Budapest," Clint replied with a cocky grin. Natasha took one look at the archer before trying to pull him into a headlock. He immediate fought back, sending a punch to the head which she swiftly blocked.

"Hey, hey, hey! No fighting in my tower! There's a gym for that," Tony whined. The two stopped and glared at him.

Jane glanced at Thor. "Do they always do that?" She asked in a low voice, getting a short nod in response.

"Oh my god, just get a room already!" Darcy shouted at the two assassins.

Natasha growled slightly. "I'd watch your mouth if I were you."

"Nat, chill out."

Natasha ignored her partner and stepped toward Darcy, but Clint wrapped his arms around her, trapping her against his chest.

The others watched as she struggled, but she was unable to push away from him.

Tony stared at them before shaking his head. "Ok, whatever. Just sing the song."

By the end of the night, all the Avengers were forced into singing. Although none of them would admit it, everyone had fun.

* * *

**I hope you liked it. Please favorite, follow, and review! My goal is to get 30 reviews by the time I finish the story, and I have one more chapter. I hope it's not too much to ask for, but review make my day and I'd love to get 30!**

**Thank you!**

**pure-black-wings**


	6. 6: Christmas Day

**Ok, so this is this final chapter of the First Avenger's Christmas. I'm sorry that it only ended up being six chapters, and I hope that you like the ending. I'm going to write another fanfiction about a mission Natasha and Clint go on taking place not too long after this fanfic, and I would really like it if you would read it! By the way, not really much humor in this chapter. There's more family, friendship, and well, fluff.**

**Also, thanks to wolfhawke5912, Jedi Kay-Kenobi, Guest, NSThorlover, NCISRookie33, AgentEquus, Skytteflickan, Smileychameleon, Awesomeperson49044, Rosethornee, xXxSaiyanPrincessxXx, kogouma, TemptedReader, Magic Iris, archangelavyn, sv4me, IaMcHrIsSi1, and theblonde2243 for the reviews! They really meant a lot. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or the Avengers… Although I seriously wish I did.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Christmas Day

Light shined through the window in Jane's room, making her eyes flutter open. She stared at the sun shining through the glass for a moment before she remembered everything. It was Christmas day, and she was spending it at Stark Tower with the Avengers.

The brunette quickly got up and dressed before heading towards the living room. When she got there, she saw Thor, Bruce, and Tony sitting on the couches. They didn't seem to notice her until she spoke softly, "Good morning."

Thor quickly looked up and grinned. "Lady Jane! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you, too, Thor," she replied with a smile before joining her Asguardian boyfriend on the couch. Thor pecked her on the cheek, causing her to giggle slightly.

Suddenly, they heard a door creak open and turned their heads to see Pepper coming out of her room.

"Hey, Pep!" Tony greeted his fiancé, pulling her down onto the couch next to him. Pepper simply mumbled a good morning back and set her head on his shoulder.

"Where were you last night?" The strawberry blonde asked sleepily when she found her voice.

Tony paused and glanced over at Bruce who gave him an encouraging nod. "Brucie and I were finishing an experiment."

"On Christmas Eve?" Pepper asked curiously.

"Well, it's kind of a Christmas present," Bruce replied quietly.

"That's sweet."

They blinked in confusion until they spotted Betty standing in the doorway. She gave them a faint smile before slowly sitting down next to Bruce. "Hey everyone."

They greeted her a good morning in return before falling into silence for a few minutes.

"So where's the coffee in this place?"

"In the kitchen, but don't drink all of it. Agent Romanoff gets cranky in the morning."

The voices of Steve and Darcy filled their ears as their friends entered the room. Steve sighed and sat down on one of the couches beside Tony. "Miss Lewis woke me up, demanding for coffee. Apparently JARVIS let her into my room."

"Good job, JARVIS, keep it up," Tony complemented his AI. If anyone could get Steve Rogers to complain, they deserved an award.

"Thank you, sir," JARVIS' voice came as a response. Steve just mumbled something that sounded like 'everyone is against me', but it was barely audible.

Then Darcy came in with her cup of coffee and sat down of the other side of Jane. "What kind of coffee is this? It's disgusting."

"It's just normal coffee," Bruce piped up.

"Um, yeah, I can tell. Ever heard of Starbucks?"

Tony shrugged. "Romanoff is the only one who ever drinks coffee. We buy what she likes."

"That makes sense. It's bland, like her personality," Darcy snorted.

"Didn't I tell you to watch your mouth, Lewis?"

Almost everyone jumped out of their seat at the sound of Natasha's voice. They looked around until they finally spotted the redhead watching them from the vents.

"How long have you been there, Lady Widow?" Thor asked.

Natasha shrugged. "A while."

"Yeah, a while. Now get the hell out of my way, I'm trying to get into the living room," Clint's voice came from behind her.

"You can get by me," Natasha replied stubbornly, not moving a muscle.

"No, I can't."

"Are you implying that I'm fat?"

"No, I'm just implying that you should move."

The team sighed as the assassins bickered. It got tiring listening to them sometimes. Suddenly, they heard a yelp as Natasha was shoved out of the air vents, causing her to fall onto the ground.

"There, problem solved," Clint said gleefully as he hopped out, offering Natasha his hand. She took it reluctantly, digging her nails into his hand as she was pulled to her feet. They sat down on the couch next to Betty and Bruce, before they all turned to Tony.

Tony seemed pleased that they automatically looked over at him, for he began to speak with a grin on his face, "Ok, that's open presents. Pepper, if you will go get the first one from under the tree, please?"

"Why me?" Pepper muttered, burying her head in his shoulder.

"You're my assistant, go assist."

Pepper gave him a look of disbelief. "Get your own dang presents."

"Touché," Tony said before turning to Natasha. "Natalie, go."

"That was a cover, Stark," Natasha replied.

"Plleeeaaaasssee?"

"No."

"Fine," Tony muttered, getting up off the couch. "I'll do it. Gosh, you people are lazy."

Then all the Avengers chuckled slightly, that was strangely ironic. Tony ignored them and grabbed a random present. "Looks like you get the honor of opening the first present, Lewis."

"Oh, great! Give it here!" Darcy demanded, perking up immediately. Tony sighed and handed the present to her, which she ripped open without hesitation. When she got the wrapping paper off, she opened the box to see yet another box. "What the… How many boxes are there?"

When she didn't get a reply, the black haired women continued to open the present. After about five minutes of trying to get the tape off, she ripped the box open to see a small silver object at the bottom of the box.

Joy spread across Darcy's face as she pumped her fist in celebration. "My Ipod!"

Jane let out a small laugh before getting an envelope stuffed in her face. She gave Tony a weird look before taking it and slowly opening it. When she took the card out of the envelope, a small golden key fell into her lap. She blinked in confusion before opening the card and skimming her eyes over it. Suddenly, she squealed happy.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jane squeaked. "It's a new lab with all the research SHIELD took away from me in it!"

After the first two, the present opening seemed to go by fairly quickly. Thor got a whole room full of poptarts, and he extremely happy about. Bruce got new lab equipment, and Pepper received a two week vacation to the Bahamas, which seemed very well-deserved considering she had to put up with Tony Stark. Clint got a new bow and upgraded arrows, while Natasha got a brand new gun that only responded to her touch. Like Bruce, Betty also got lab equipment, but she also received a letter from her father, who she hadn't talked to in what seemed like forever.

Tony's present had probably been the most difficult to come up with. What do you get someone who already has everything? That's when they realized that Tony didn't have everything, not really. So when Tony opened his present he couldn't help but stare. It was everything SHIELD had on Howard Stark, everything in his file, every video he ever made, and everything he had ever written. Behind all of that there was a small picture of all the Avengers and Pepper that had a paragraph on the back in sharpie. It said, 'No matter what happens, I'll always have us as your family.'

As the watched him look at his present, they heard Pepper let out a mock gasp. "Is Tony Stark crying?"

"No, I'm just allergic to kindness," Tony joked with a small smile. Then he hugged Pepper tightly before turning to the other Avengers. "You know I love you guys, right?"

Then it was time for Steve's present. Bruce and Tony turned to each other and grinned before Tony said, "JARVIS, tell our guest she can come up now."

"Guest? No one was supposed to show up until lunch time," Steve stated in confusion. Tony just smiled and turned to look at the elevator. Finally, the elevator doors slid open to reveal an old-fashion looking brunette.

Steve stared at her in disbelief before chocking out, "Peggy?"

"Hello, Steve," she replied with a huge smile. Her accent was exactly the same as he remembered it, and it looked as if she hadn't aged a day.

"How…?" Steve stammered, glancing over at Tony and Bruce.

For once, Bruce gave Steve a truly happy smile. "Tony and I have been working on an experiment for a while. We didn't bring her back from the dead or anything, and it'll only last a few hours, but we thought you might want to see her at least one last time."

"Thank you," the super soldier said with a genuinely happy smile. Then he turned back to Peggy.

"You're late," she spoke accusingly, but the smile remained on her face.

Steve chuckled slightly. "I have a good reason this time."

"Ok, we have a few hours before every else gets here," Tony informed Steve. Then all of the other got up and left the room, leaving Steve and Peggy alone.

Peggy and Steve stood in silence for a moment before Steve said, "You know, I still don't know how to dance."

Peggy laughed lightly. "Well, the offer still stands. I can still teach you."

"I'd like that," Steve replied before adding, "JARVIS, please turn on some music."

"Right away, Mr. Rogers," JARVIS replied as music filled the room. Steve turned back to Peggy, only to see her glancing around in confusion.

"What was that?" Peggy asked in a hushed tone.

Steve just shrugged slightly, unsure of how to explain. "Howard's son."

Peggy hesitated before nodding. Then she offered him her hand and said, "I believe you owe me a dance."

Steve took Peggy's hand, unable to stop a huge grin from appearing on his face.

* * *

After three hours of dancing and catching up, Tony joined them in the living room, followed by Bruce. "I think it's time now."

Peggy stopped dancing, her shoulders drooping slightly. "Already?"

Steve looked over at his friends, his face unreadable. Bruce was the one who nodded in response. "Yeah. But, Steve, you can watch as we send her back to her time."

"Back to her time?" Steve repeated in confusion.

"Well, yeah, I mean, Peggy is an image from the past, and she can't stay here for too long. We have to send her back," Tony tried to explain. Although Steve didn't really understand, he nodded.

When they had made it down to Bruce and Tony's lab, the two scientists began to start up the machine while Peggy turned to Steve. She had a hurt look on her face. They both knew they wouldn't see each other for a while, and possibly forever. "Thanks for the dance."

"Yeah, you, too," Steve replied awkwardly. When the machine was ready, he glanced over at her once more. "Hey, Peggy?"

"Yes?" She asked, turning to the blonde soldier.

Steve gave her a slight smile. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied quietly, pressing her lips to his. When she finally pulled back, she walked into the machine and disappeared from sight.

Steve felt his heart sink as she left, loneliness clutching his heart. Then he felt Tony set a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Capsicle. Fury, Hill, Dr. Selvig, Rhodey, and Loki will be here soon," Tony said.

Steve didn't say anything; he just looked at Tony and Bruce gratefully. "Thank you, for everything."

"No problem."

* * *

And Tony was right, because fifteen minutes later, Rhodey walked into the living room.

"Hey, Rhodey!" Tony called to his friend. Rhodey gave him a slight smile and nodded in return.

Tony cocked his head to the side. "Am I getting the silent treatment already? It usually takes about thirty minutes for you to get that annoyed at me."

"No, no, that's not it. If it makes you feel any better: hi Tony," Rhodey replied with a small chuckle.

Pepper laughed lightly before giving him a small wave. "Hi Rhodey."

"Miss Potts. Good to see you again," he responded as he noticed Natasha. "Oh, you've put up with Tony this long, Miss Rushman?"

A smug smile grew on Natasha's face. "Actually, it's Romanoff. Natasha Romanoff. And I don't work for Tony; I would have left long alone if I did."

Rhodey gave Tony a confused look. The billionaire just sighed, "Yeah, I was confused, too. Apparently she was undercover. She's really an assassin, you know, one of the Avengers."

Rhodey's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't do anything except nod.

Suddenly, the elevator opened once more, and Fury, Maria Hill, Erik Selvig, and a handcuffed, rather annoyed looking, Loki stepped in.

"FRIEND SELVIG!" Thor bellowed, pulling Erik into a very tight embrace.

Erik chuckled the best he could, but he seemed to have trouble breathing. "Hey, um, Thor, can you please put me down now."

"Oh, sorry," Thor mumbled, setting the SHIELD scientist on the ground.

Fury simply nodded at the Avengers and stood to the side, watching them. (Which Tony would point out later was in fact, very creep.)

"Hey, Laufeyson!" Darcy called from the couch, waving her hand at the god.

"Hello, Lewis," Loki greeted her. Darcy held up a board game, which confused the Avengers, but Loki seemed to understand just fine. He walked over to her, sitting beside her on the couch and watching as she began to set up Monopoly.

"What the hell…" Tony mumbled, watching the two.

"Um, Thor, when did _that _happen?" Jane asked in a whisper. Thor didn't reply, for he looked just as confused as she felt.

"Maria!" Natasha called from the kitchen where she sat on the counter. She was watching, and waiting though not very patiently, for Clint to finish cooking lunch. Maria glanced over at Natasha in confusion as if to say, 'what do you want?' Natasha motioned for her to approach them, which she did cautiously.

"What is it, Agent Romanoff?" Maria asked, trying to mask her confusion.

Natasha tilted her head to the side. "What? We use to be kind of friends. Can't I talk to a fellow agent without there being anything wrong?"

Clint's snicker could be heard over the beeping of the oven. Natasha shot him a glare, not that he noticed. "Ok, fine. I wanted to ask you how your Christmas was going. You know, since this is our first Christmas without Phil…"

All three of them seemed to stiffen at the name. It was true; life was hard without Phil, especially the holidays. Phil had been Clint and Natasha's handler, as well as their best friend. And Maria, well, it was no secret that her and Coulson had liked each other.

It took a few minutes, but the three actually, sort of, let down their walls and started talking to each other. A while after that, Clint let out a sigh of relief. "Lunch is ready."

Everyone seemed relieved at that for they all sat down at the dining room table, except for Maria, Natasha, Clint, and Tony. Maria and Natasha began to carry the plates of food to the table, and Clint tried to help, by Tony stopped him.

"When are you going to pull out the present we bought yesterday?" Tony asked in a hushed tone.

Clint shifted uncomfortably and shrugged. "I was waiting for everyone else to get here. You know, to have more witnesses of my death."

"You won't die!" Tony protested in voice rising slightly.

"Shhh! People will hear you!" Clint warned.

Tony rolled his eyes, but he indeed lowered his voice. "Do it now."

Clint just gave him a small, nervous nod.

Tony sat down by Pepper as Maria and Natasha set the last of the food on the table. The two of them took their seats as Clint strolled into the room. He strolled, trying his best not to dart down the hallway and lock himself in his room. Tony, Bruce, Steve, and Thor were grinning, but everyone else seemed completely unaware of what was going to happen.

"Just one more thing before everyone starts eating," Clint said slowly. He hesitated before grabbing Natasha's arm and yanking her to her feet. A look of utter confusion crossed the redhead's face, but was quickly replaced with shock as her partner got down on one knee and pulled out a small, purple velvet box.

_Oh my god. _Those seemed to be the only words that she could comprehend. What the heck was he thinking?

Her train of thought pretty much crashed when he began to speak. "Natasha, I know you're probably going to kill me for this, but I don't know what I would do without you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so Natasha Romanoff, I love you. Will you marry me?"

Natasha just stared at him in disbelief, seven words repeating in her head over and over. I love you, will you marry me. I love you, will you marry me. What was wrong with him? This would defiantly get them either compromised, or killed. It was probably the most cliché and idiotic thing she had even heard of, but she felt her heart grow heavy and tears form in her eyes. _What the heck is wrong with me? Damn feelings._

Meanwhile, all the Avengers watched eagerly as Clint closed his eyes. It seemed like he was preparing himself to be slapped, but indeed he got a shaky, barely audible reply.

"Yes."

Clint opened his eyes and stared at his partner in shock. Did she honestly just say yes? When the people sitting down at the table started cheering he guessed he heard correctly. He slipped the ring on her finger, which was the first chance she had to look at it. It was a silver band with diamond shaped rubies on it. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted an engraving on it that said, 'After four years, we still haven't agreed on Budapest, huh?'

Natasha let out a short laugh before grabbing Clint's shirt collar and pulling him to his feet before smashing her lips to his. She half did this because she didn't know how else to show how she felt, and half because she didn't want her teammates to see her crying.

That's when they heard Tony's voice announce, "Ok, pay up!"

Some people groaned while others cheered, but either way everyone pulled out a wallet.

Clint and Natasha pulled away and stared at them in disbelief as they started handing each other twenty dollar bills. Clint blinked in confusion, "You were betting on us?"

A chorus of sheepish yeses echoed throughout the room while the two assassins started to glare at them.

Maria was the first to speak. "Well, you can't blame us. I mean, we've listened to you two flirt every day for seven years."

"And the walls at SHIELD aren't exactly sound proof," Fury stated as he handed money to Tony.

Tony ripped the money out of his hand and laughed. "I told you so! Ha! Operation Blackhawk worked!"

There was silence for the next few moments before Clint said, "Let's just start eating, ok?"

Everyone murmured in agreement and began to fill their plates.

Fury and Erik Selvig began discussing a project they were working on, while Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey started a conversation reflecting on the last Christmas they had spent together.

Steve sat in silence, but a small smile grew on his face. His first Christmas in seventy years had been a good one. He got to his Peggy again, and he had a new family. He couldn't really ask for much more.

Loki picked up a fork and was trying to cut a piece of turkey, while Darcy snorted out a laugh. "You know you can use the knife, right?"

"The what?" Loki asked, looking at her apprehensively.

Darcy picked up the knife and waved it in his face before handing it to him.

Loki took it before grumbling, "You're a piece of work, Lewis."

"Yet you like me anyway," Darcy replied with a cocky grin.

"I'm sorry if me being here as made you uncomfortable," Betty piped up, glancing at Bruce.

Bruce shook his head slowly. "No, it's ok. It was kind of nice to see you again. I missed you, Betty."

Betty smiled at him, a sight that he had missed for a long time. "I missed you too, Bruce."

Maria glanced around the room, until her gaze landed on Clint and Natasha. Phil would be proud of them; she knew that for a fact. A faint smile appeared on the assistant director's lips before she continued eating.

"Hey, Nat?" Clint asked quietly. Natasha turned her green gaze to her partner, waiting for him to continue. "Thanks for not hitting me."

Natasha smirked slightly before something rare happened. Natasha Romanoff, the infamous Black Widow, actually smiled. "No problem, bird brain." She hesitated before adding, "I love you."

"I love you too," Clint replied with a grin, sliding one of his arms around her waist. His thoughts wondered for a moment before saying, "It's weird, isn't it? Having Christmas without Coulson?"

"Yeah," Natasha said before adding, "Maybe he's watching us right now, screaming 'I told you so.'"

Clint chuckled. "I thought you didn't believe in angels."

"I didn't believe in love either, and look how that turned out."

Maria, who had been secretly listening, snorted slightly. Who knew? Maybe Coulson was watching them from above, laughing and yelling, 'I knew it! I saw that coming!' But yet, that couldn't really be proven, could it? All she knew is that if anyone would have been happy with how the first Avenger's Christmas went, it would have been Phil Coulson.

* * *

**There you have it! I hope everyone liked the last chapter, and I hope you'll read some of my upcoming Avengers fanfictions. Also, please review, and thanks to anyone who helped me reach my goal of 30 reviews. :) A big thank you to everyone, and have a happy 2013!**

**pure-black-wings**


End file.
